Stereoselectivity in the salt-cocrystal products formed by phenylglycinol or phenylglycine with their respective sodium or hydrochloride salts.

The salt and stereoselective cocrystal phenomena associated with 2-phenylglycinol and 2-phenylglycine have been studied using X-ray powder diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. The chiral identities of the free acids and their sodium salts, or the free bases and their chloride salts, were found to play a determining role as to whether a salt-cocrystal product could or could not be formed. In particular, when cocrystallization of an enantiomerically pure basic or zwitterionic substance with its enantiomerically pure acid addition salt was attempted, a salt-cocrystal was only obtained when the absolute configuration of the two reactants is opposite. On the other hand, it has been found that no stereoselectivity in salt-cocrystal formation existed in the cocrystallization of an enantiomerically pure acidic or zwitterionic substance with its enantiomerically pure base addition salt.